Direct Action: An Ethnography
by David Graeber /
2009 / English / PDF
10.8 MB Download
Anthropologist David Graeber undertakes the first detailed
ethnographic study of the global justice movement. The case
study at the center of
Anthropologist David Graeber undertakes the first detailed
ethnographic study of the global justice movement. The case
study at the center ofDirect Action
Direct Action is the organizing
and events that led to the one of the most dramatic and
militant mass protests in recent years—against the Summit of
the Americas in Québec City. Written in a clear, accessible
style (with a minimum of academic jargon), this study brings
readers behind the scenes of a movement that has changed the
terms of debate about world power relations. From informal
conversations in coffee shops to large “spokescouncil” planning
meetings and tear gas-drenched street actions, Graeber paints a
vivid and fascinating picture.
is the organizing
and events that led to the one of the most dramatic and
militant mass protests in recent years—against the Summit of
the Americas in Québec City. Written in a clear, accessible
style (with a minimum of academic jargon), this study brings
readers behind the scenes of a movement that has changed the
terms of debate about world power relations. From informal
conversations in coffee shops to large “spokescouncil” planning
meetings and tear gas-drenched street actions, Graeber paints a
vivid and fascinating picture.
Along the way, he addresses matters of deep interest to
anthropologists: meeting structure and process, language,
symbolism and representation, the specific rituals of activist
culture, and much more. Starting from the assumption that, when
dealing with possibilities of global transformation and
emerging political forms, a disinterested, “objective”
perspective is impossible, Graeber writes as both scholar and
activist. At the same time, his experiment in the application
of ethnographic methods to important ongoing political events
is a serious and unique contribution to the field of
anthropology, as well as an inquiry into anthropology’s
political implications.
Along the way, he addresses matters of deep interest to
anthropologists: meeting structure and process, language,
symbolism and representation, the specific rituals of activist
culture, and much more. Starting from the assumption that, when
dealing with possibilities of global transformation and
emerging political forms, a disinterested, “objective”
perspective is impossible, Graeber writes as both scholar and
activist. At the same time, his experiment in the application
of ethnographic methods to important ongoing political events
is a serious and unique contribution to the field of
anthropology, as well as an inquiry into anthropology’s
political implications.David Graeber
David Graeber is an anthropologist and activist who
teaches at the University of London. Active in numerous
direct-action political organizations, he has written for
is an anthropologist and activist who
teaches at the University of London. Active in numerous
direct-action political organizations, he has written forHarper’s Magazine
Harper’s Magazine and is the author of
and is the author ofFragments of
an Anarchist Anthropology
Fragments of
an Anarchist Anthropology,
,Towards an Anthropological
Theory of Value
Towards an Anthropological
Theory of Value, and
, andPossibilities
Possibilities.
.
